Appointments, billing and all customer interactions work to improve
patient satisfaction

April 16, 2014 08:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture
(NYSE:ACN) has been selected by the Boston
Children’s Hospital, a renowned teaching hospital, to develop an
innovative strategy to help streamline the consumer experience, from
scheduling an appointment to paying a bill.

“Not just medical, but all of our interactions with patients, their
families and referring providers are critical to maintaining the highest
standard of care,” said Margaret Coughlin, chief marketing and
communications officer of Boston Children’s Hospital. “As a leading
pediatric hospital, we are known for our outstanding clinical care, but
we are also committed to ensuring that every interaction within our
health system is effective, efficient and consistently positive.”

Accenture will deliver a new business model that provides consumers with
faster, easier access to physician appointments and a consistent
experience across all departments. As part of the three-month project,
Accenture will identify and streamline disparate billing processes to
ensure effective customer service and improved revenue cycle efficiency
across the physician organization.

“Patient satisfaction is critical to successful health outcomes – and
satisfaction starts with the first phone call,” said Dipak Patel,
managing director of Accenture’s patient access initiatives. “Patients
who perceive gaps in customer service are at a higher risk of not
remaining engaged in their care. Increasingly, patients are looking at
measures beyond quality of care, such as convenience and value, for
selecting their health provider.”

Accenture’s research
shows the average wait time for physician appointments, complexity of
scheduling, number of phone transfers and ability to resolve issues by
phone play a major role in overall patient satisfaction. “Addressing
these access-related issues is essential to maintaining and growing
market share among the top pediatric hospitals both nationally and
globally,” added Patel.

About AccentureAccenture is a global management consulting,
technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 289,000
people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining
unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all
industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world's
most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help
them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company
generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug.
31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.